


The Devil in the Courtroom

by Identical Snowflakes (TheFinalFrontier87), TheFinalFrontier87



Category: Avengers (Comics), Daredevil (Comics), Daredevil (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: A Bit Not Good, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And theres Hydra, Bruce Banner Has Issues, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Claire Temple Deserves Better, Gen, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Hydra (Marvel), Matt Murdock & Foggy Nelson Friendship, Matt Murdock Needs a Hug, Nelson and Murdock: Attorneys at Law, Not looking good at all, Post-Avengers (2012), Right on time, Superhero Babysitter Claire Temple, The entire government is trying to press charges against him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21677011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFinalFrontier87/pseuds/Identical%20Snowflakes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFinalFrontier87/pseuds/TheFinalFrontier87
Summary: Bruce Banner needs a lawyer. Desperately. The entire US government is trying to press charges against him. Luckily, two lawyers from Hells Kitchen are more than eager to represent him. Nelson and Murdock are on the case! Now, if only Hydra would stay away and leave the trial alone. But, hey, things never go as planned. Why should it now?
Comments: 15
Kudos: 118





	1. Not Your Ordinary Lawyers

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Welcome! Thanks for clicking on this story!  
> So, this is an idea that hasn't left me alone for a really long time now. I really wanted to write it, so I did! I also did my best to make it as accurate as possible. I did hours and hours of research. I also interrogated certain people I know who have a background in criminal justice and the American legal/judicial system. (It was kinda hard to explain to them that I'm not, in fact, looking into become a lawyer, but instead writing fanfiction that has stuff to do with court. And then I had to explain what fan fiction was... welp.... I now have multiple family members questioning my sanity for you, reader. Hope the story is worth it!)  
> If you do enjoy it, a kudos and/or a comment would be deeply appreciated!  
> Also, special thanks LogicalVulcan for looking over my writing for errors and proofing/revising it! You're the best! I recommend going to look on our shared account for some stories written by LogicalVulcan and in collaboration of both of us!  
> Sorry for this getting lengthy. To those of you who haven't skipped this and are actually reading it, I hope you enjoy the story!  
> Love you!  
> \- Identical Snowflakes

Matt slowly lowered himself into his seat. The chair itself felt like it cost more than his entire life savings. The overwhelming smell of expensive cologne and hairspray assaulted his senses. Across the cluttered desk in front of him sat a man who was clicking a pen rapidly. It was going to drive Matt insane.

His partner, Foggy, warmly shook the man's hand and took a seat next to Matt. If his friend felt out of his element at all, he wasn't showing it. Matt nervously tapped his index finger against his cane.

"Hi. I'm Foggy Nelson," Foggy introduced. "This is my colleague and good friend, Matt Murdock. We'd like to take Doctor Banner's case."

Matt heard some rustling as the man shifted. He leaned forward with his chin resting on his fist.

"He's giving us a skeptical glance," Foggy noted, leaning over to Matt. "I say we go with it."

"Excellent," Matt said, smiling. He set his cane aside and dropped a heavy, old briefcase onto the table that looked like it was 95 percent duck tape. He gave it a shove and it slid across the table to where his friend was sitting.

Foggy barely stopped it from falling from the table. He flicked it open with a click and produced a stack of papers.

The man shifted again. "And you're with-"

"Nelson and Murdock Law Firm," said Matt.

"Right…" to say the man sounded skeptical would be an understatement. He scratched his chin. "You know, most lawyers wouldn't want to go against the best the US government could hire."

"With all due respect, Mr. Stark, we're not most lawyers," Foggy said, peeking his head out from behind the suitcase.

"I can see that," Stark snorted. He leaned forward, placing both hands on the table. "Why should I hire you?"

"We're cheap?" Matt suggested.

"You see who you're talking to, right? Money's not an issue for me."

"Actually, I don't see who I'm talking to. I haven't seen anything since I was nine. Thought that was kinda obvious."  
"We also have never lost a case," Foggy snapped the case shut and pushed it aside. He slid a large stack of papers that were held together with multiple staples and several paper clips towards Stark.

"Plus, you don't really have a choice in the matter." Matt said. He folded his hands in front of him on the desk.

"Excuse me?"

"It's kind of obvious," Matt shrugged. "No one else wanted to represent Doctor Banner. There's no way _you_ , a billionaire and an Avenger, would call _us,_ a small startup law firm from Hell's Kitchen unless you were desperate."

"Hence, we were most likely your last resort," Foggy said.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

Stark raised both of his eyebrows, going silent for a moment. After a minute a wry chuckle escaped his lips and he shook his head.

"You've got an attitude. I like that," Stark grinned. "So, you two go around Hell's Kitchen, helping those who can't afford to hire real lawyers?"

"We are real lawyers, actually. We've passed the bar exam in four different states," Foggy said.

"And we graduated from Harvard," Matt added.

"This guy was the top of our entire class," Foggy said, pointing at Matt.

"So, yes, we are real lawyers," said Matt.

"We just care a lot more about people then we do about money," Foggy finished.

"Well," Stark nodded. "You're hired."

He quickly clicked his pen once more and signed the papers.

* * *

_24 hours earlier_

"Matt, I've told you this once, and I'm telling you again. You. Are. Crazy," Foggy sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fifty guys, Matt. _Fifty!_ It was all over the news!"

"Fifty-one," Matt corrected.

"Not my point!" Foggy snapped. He angrily stormed ahead, forcing Matt to quicken his pace in order to keep up. "My point is that you can't keep doing this! You're not a superhero, you're a lawyer! You could've died!"

"But I didn't," Matt insisted through grit teeth. His dislocated ribs were starting to burn. Foggy refused to slow down.

"Need I remind you that you are _blind?_ "

"Really? I forgot," Matt deadpanned.

Foggy stopped walking. Matt almost bumped into him. There was a moment of silence. "I don't know if you can tell or not, but I'm glaring at you."

"Yeah, I assumed that."

Foggy sighed and started walking again. " _Fifty_ people, Matt. _Fifty._ "

Matt was about to say he regularly fought a lot more than that, but he held his tongue. "I'm fine, okay? Fine. And I have to do this. You know that."

"I know that you can be a real _idiot_ and a real _pain_ sometimes," Foggy groaned.

"Yes, but I'm your idiot. You're stuck with me."

Foggy laughed. "True. True. Just… just be careful, okay? I don't want to turn on the news one day and find out you were found dead in some alley or something, okay?" he shoved Matt's shoulder. "I don't want to be stuck going through your will. Those things are _complicated._ And I have enough on my plate as it is." he frowned. "You do have a will, right?"

"I'm fine, Foggy. Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine."

"No one's ever actually fine when they say 'I'm fine'. Crosswalk," Foggy said, looping his arm through Matt's and leading him across the road.

"You know I don't actually need you to help me across the street, right?"

"Yeah, but we've gone this far, might as well keep the ruse up," Foggy shrugged. "I mean, unless you're planning on announcing your identity to everyone a la Iron Man style."

Matt laughed. He shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not."

"Good, 'cause I don't feel like getting kidnapped."

Matt bit back a sarcastic comment. Within a few minutes they stopped before an old, large run-down brick building that was in desperate need of some care.

"Here it is." Foggy ran his fingers across their buildings sign. "The place where the magic happens."

"You are a child," Matt laughed. He opened the door for his friend, following him in immediately after.

Matt wrinkled his nose as he entered the small foyer and slowly shut the chipped wooden door behind him. The old building smelled of dust and mildew, and the door creaked like it was about to fall off its rusty hinges. Matt's cane kept catching on the cheap, torn-up carpet that was peeling away in the corners. The ancient AC unit gurgled loudly in the background, randomly shutting off and turning back on at random times. The abused machine obviously wasn't doing its job correctly; it was so humid it Matt could feel the air around him.

"Home sweet home… Oh, come on!" Fogg stomped his foot suddenly, sending a cloud of dust through the air to attack Matt's senses. He coughed. A startled rat squeaked loudly and scurried away, its tiny nails clicking across the parts of the floor where the carpet had been peeled up to reveal hardwood underneath. "I thought Mr. Galboni hired someone to come take care of the rats…"

Matt shook his head. "Come on." He jerked his head towards the stairs. He heard Foggy's rapid, heavy footsteps fall in step next to him.

A long hallway sat at the top of the stairs. At the end of the hall stood the dark oak door with "Nelson and Murdock: Attorneys at Law" proudly engraved.

Their corner of the building was, admittedly, presented quite a bit better than the rest of it. They made sure to regularly clean the large window on the wall adjacent to their office, and according to Karen and Foggy, the sunlight peeked through the flowing drapes and gave off a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

 _The rest of the office isn't bad either,_ Matt thought to himself as he entered, smiling as the working air conditioning cooled him off immediately.

A ginger sitting in at the reception desk in the center of the room looked up from her computer as they entered. A warm smile covered her face.

"Hey guys," Karen said, waving her hand meekly. She set aside the papers she was signing and walked over to greet them.

Matt turned his back towards his friends, taking his sweet time taking off his jacket and trying to hide his smile. He could hear Foggy's heart speed up ever so slightly, and could sense the blood rise in his cheeks. Foggy had been smitten by Karen since day one.

"What's the damage, chief?" Foggy asked, shrugging off his own jacket as well.

"Rent was due last week and we're still short about eight hundred dollars," she said hesitantly, making a face and fiddling with her fingers.

"Well, um… just use the money we got from the Weller's case to pay it off," Foggy shrugged.

"Do you mean the apple pie they gave us, or the apple cider?"

"Oh, the benefits of preventing someone from losing their grandparent's apple orchard." Foggy forced a smile, a little bit of concern creeping into his voice. "How about the Ampler case?"

"They paid in breadsticks." Karen said.

"Johnsen case?"

"Coupons to Olive Garden."

"Any of the mortgage fraud cases?!" Foggy asked desperately.

"A tub of vanilla ice cream, roses, homemade sweaters, and season three of The Office on DVD."

"That… that is not good." Foggy squeaked. Matt could hear Foggy's heart beating rapidly, and he knew it had nothing to do with his crush on Karen.

"Don't panic, Foggy," said Matt.

"Panic? I'm not panicking! Who's panicking? Me? Nah!" Foggy laughed frantically. "Although if I'm being perfectly honest, the alarm bells are going 'ring a ding a ling ding' a little bit!"

"Foggy, calm down." Matt rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. "We'll just pull out another loan on the building, and-"

"Actually, I already called the bank. They're threatening to freeze our accounts," Karen said quietly.

The room went dead quiet.

"Okay, well, now I'm panicking," said Foggy. He pressed his forehead against the nearby door frame that lead into his office. "We're doomed. We're doomed, we're doomed, we are doomed. We're going to lose our office. We're gonna lose our homes. Our career has died, just like my hopes and dreams."

"Foggy, don't be so dramatic. We'll figure something out. We always do." Matt smiled. He took a minute to find his cane, but he eventually grabbed it and led himself towards his office.

"Oh my gosh! Matt!" Karen exclaimed, finally noticing Matt's appearance for the first time. Her hand rose to her mouth. "You have a black eye! What happened?"

"Oh, I… um…" Matt stumbled over his words. "I fell into a… uh… a…."

"A door," Foggy improvised. "He fell into a door. On his way home from work."

"A door?" Karen asked incredulously. Matt pressed his lips together.

"Yes," Matt lied. The words pained him. "I fell into… into a door."

"How does that even happen?"

"He's just that clumsy! And… and he was drunk, so..." Foggy's voice trailed off. He clasped his hands together and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"I thought you didn't drink," Karen said. She crossed her arms.

"I don't," Matt sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Luckily at that moment Matt was saved by the bell. Almost literally. The phone started ringing.

"Fine." Karen shrugged, holding her hands up in surrender. She made her way back to the desk. "Whatever. Don't tell me. I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."

"Roger that." Foggy gave her retreating back two dorky thumbs up.

As soon as she was out of earshot Matt swatted Foggy's shoulder.

" _Hey, what was that for?!_ " Foggy hissed.

" _'He fell into a door?' Really?_ " Matt whispered back.

"How about 'thanks for covering for me back there, Foggy. I really appreciate you lying to Karen's face even though you've told me repeatedly how against it you are.' And you're welcome, by the way," Foggy hissed back.

"I'll tell her eventually," Matt insisted.

"You better. I don't want her figuring out how I did," Foggy grumbled.

Matt grimaced.

How he found out about his secret identity was… unfair, to say the least. Foggy had stopped by Matt's apartment one night to find Matt stumbling in, beaten half to death and in full Daredevil uniform. Matt wasn't even able to explain himself before he collapsed from his wounds.

Once Matt woke up, he and Foggy had a very… unpleasant conversation, to put it nicely.

To put it not so nicely…. Matt sat there and cried while Foggy yelled at him.

Their friendship hit rock bottom after that. They even stopped being friends entirely for a few weeks. But they got through it. They always do. For the most part. Kind of.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty," Karen said, holding her hand over one end of the phone. "Could you quit bickering like an old married couple for a few minutes? I'm on the phone."

"Sorry," Foggy said, grinning and shooting her another thumbs up. Matt nodded his head as an apology.

Karen rolled her eyes and turned back to the phone. "Yes, this is Nelson-Murdock Law Firm. This is Karen speaking, how may I help you? Yes… yes… uh huh. No, we don't…. That is to say we've never actually…. um…." She balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder and reached for a folder. "I mean we could, but…." She flipped the folder open and looked through the papers. "I could get you in on… Potts? No, I don't… Huh? What?..." She lowered the folder.. " I'm sorry, but what's S.H.I.E.L.D.?"


	2. A New Friend and an Old Rival

S.H.I.E.L.D. security was the most annoying thing in the entire world. And for Matt that was saying something; he's met some _really_ annoying people. Nick Fury was the most paranoid person to ever exist. Matt wouldn't be surprised if he bugged his closest friends' homes and hired spies to follow them around. If he had friends, that is.

S.H.I.E.L.D. security seemed to not care in the slightest that Matt was blind. They forced him to go through all the "regular" procedures. The even checked his glasses. His _glasses._

It was by some miracle that they didn't find the escrima sticks disguised as his cane. Well, they did find them, but Matt was able to convince the agent searching him that the cane is _supposed_ to come apart like that.

It took an hour and a half for the three of them to get through. _An hour and a half._ And then it took another twenty minutes to figure out which floor of the Triskelion Doctor Banner was held in. Needless to say, they were running a _little_ late to their appointment.

The doctor didn't seem to mind though. He was kind and welcoming, though jittery and nervous. They were meeting in a somewhat large room. A large rectangular table sat in the middle, with four metal folding chairs around it. The room resembled an interrogation room one would find at a police station. The back wall was nearly covered in what Matt assumed was a two way mirror. His echolocation told him that multiple sets of guards stood outside.

Security, security.

"Doctor Banner? Hi, I'm Foggy Nelson. These are my friends: Matt Murdock and Karen Page."

Matt took his seat at the table as Foggy and Banner shook hands. Doctor Banner turned and offered his hand towards Matt, but he—playing the part of a blind man—stared at the wall and pretended not to notice.

There were a few beats of awkward silence before Banner lowered his hand slowly.

"If you would please take your seat, Doctor, we can begin our discussion," Foggy said, gesturing at the chairs.

Banner nodded quickly and went to take his seat, accidentally knocking the chair down in the process. He nervously fumbled with it for a moment before finally sitting.

Matt could hear Doctor Banner's heart beating rapidly and his hands trembling in his lap.

"Karen, would you mind getting us something to drink?" Matt asked.

"Of course," she said chipperly. "What would you like, Doctor? I can probably find some coffee. Maybe some tea?"

"Oh… uh, I'm fine. Thank you, though," Dr. Banner said quietly.

Karen smiled kindly. She picked up her purse and excused herself from the room, shutting the door behind her.

Matt folded his hands in front of him on the table. "Dr. Banner, how-"

"Bruce. You… you can call me Bruce," Bruce mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Bruce," Matt said, "how much of what's happening do you understand?"

"Just jumping straight into it. Okay. Um… they haven't told me much, to be honest. Whenever I ask anything, everyone always gives me really vague answers. I'm pretty sure they just want to keep me calm so the other guy doesn't make an appearance," Bruce shrugged.

"Oh man, that would suck! Especially considering the Hulk's the reason you're getting taken to court in the first place," Foggy chuckled. "You hulking out and destroying everything would _completely_ mess up our case. Try to _not_ do that."

Bruce blinked. "Yeah, I kinda figured that."

"Dr. Banner-"

"Bruce."

"Apologies," Matt said, "Bruce. How much do you know?"

"I'm being sued, right? Because of all the damage the Hulk has done?" Bruce sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Technically the US government is pressing charges against you, not suing you, which is actually a lot worse," Foggy corrected, sounding a little too pleasant considering the current situation.

"Great," Bruce muttered.

"Yeah, cause with suing all you'd have to do is pay a bunch of money. But when charges are pressed, you can get fined, sent to prison, or even get the death sentence! You also have to-"

"Foggy, that's enough," Matt said.

"Thanks for the reassurance," Bruce muttered, rubbing his chin.

"It's not as bad as my partner is making it seem," Matt said, trying to redirect the conversation. "However, the prosecution is trying to hold you accountable for the actions of the Hulk and we won't know how strong their case is until the preliminary trial. But we will use every second of our time, before and after the preliminary trail, to prepare for your case. Trust me Doctor Banner, you're in good hands."

"Preliminary trial?" Bruce asked skeptically.

"It's set for Monday of next week. You don't have to worry, we'll take care of everything," Matt assured.

"That's… that's really soon, don't you think?" Bruce asked.

"Trust me, the sooner we get the preliminary hearing over with, the better," Foggy said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Can't I just… _not_ go?" Bruce asked.

"You could waive your rights to a preliminary trial, but I wouldn't do that if were you," Matt responded.

"Why not?"

"Because you're guilty. A kindergartner with internet access could prove it," shrugged Foggy.

"So I'm doomed."

"Not exactly," Foggy grinned. He flicked open the locks on his briefcase and began pulling out various papers.

"As you can see here," Matt said, waving his hand in the general direction of the papers. Foggy pointed to the title on one of them and slid it across the table. "This is the trial of one Bruce Robert Banner. Not the trial of The Hulk."

"What's the difference?" Bruce asked wearily.

"It's the Hulk that's guilty of these crimes. Not you," Matt explained. "You and The Hulk are separate entities. If we can prove this at the preliminary hearing, along with the fact that you have no control of your actions as The Hulk, then there's a slim chance that we can get your case thrown out right away."

"But what if you can't prove that?" Bruce moaned. "Or what if you can prove it, but the judge decides to send me to prison anyway?"

"That's not how a preliminary trial works," said Matt.

"A preliminary trial is like a mini-trial. It's to decide what crimes you're being accused of, and whether or not there's enough evidence to even have a trial at all," Foggy explained kindly. "In the end, the worst that could possibly happen is you'll have to wait in a holding cell without bail for a while."

"And at the very least, I think it'd be fair to assume we can get you bail," said Matt. "Then you'd be able to leave and go about your business until the court date."

"If you can afford to pay the bail, that is," Foggy added. He shrugged. "But seeing how _the_ Tony Stark is paying for all this, I don't think that'd be much of a problem."

Bruce sighed, picked up some of the papers, and began flipping through them. The door silently slid open and Karen quietly set a black coffee in front of Bruce, a coffee drowned in cream and sugar in front of Foggy, and a water bottle in front of Matt before taking a seat at the end of the table.

"You really think you can fix this?" Bruce asked, looking at Foggy skeptically.

"There's no one better to represent you," Foggy said, a wide smile on his face. "We're the best of the best."

"You're in good hands, Doctor," said Matt calmly. "I promise."

Bruce blinked. He smiled kindly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "If you say so."

"We do say so," Foggy said cheerfully. He pulled out another stack of papers and slid them over to Bruce. "We just have a couple things we need to discuss…"

* * *

 _That went… surprisingly well,_ Matt thought. _That would be a first._

Karen, Matt, and Foggy made their way down the almost empty hall, walking shoulder to shoulder. Karen and Foggy were talking excitedly and rapidly; Matt wasn't listening, instead focused too deeply in his own thoughts.

_We have the information we need to get started, but the preliminary trial is less than a week away. That doesn't leave us with much time to prepare. That was probably intentional, unfortunately. We've worked with less time before, but never with this high level of a case. Never with this much pressure. Never against the entire US government. Maybe I should have looked into the case more before taking it. Maybe I should have let someone else take it. But no one else was going to take it, that's why we did! But maybe-_

"Where are you, man?" Foggy lightly pushed Matt's shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, um..."

"Come on, Matt, get excited!" Karen said. She pumped her fists into the air excitedly. "We just met an Avenger!"

"Yeah, an Avenger who is wrongly being held in custody for something he shouldn't be held accountable for," Matt sighed. He pinched his nose under his glasses.

"Well, _I_ think it was awesome!" said Karen. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. " _However,_ no Avenger can compare to the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. He's the best."

Matt tried not to blush.

"I dunno," Foggy said, a hint of exasperation and lightly hidden anger in his voice. "I still say that guy's costume is stupid."

"It's awesome! Don't deny it," said Karen happily, not hearing Foggy's frustration.

"Horns? Really? He has horns, Karen. Look me in the eyes and you think that's not a total dork move," Foggy scoffed.

Matt frowned. He dropped his hand and gripped his cane much tighter than necessary.

"The one with horns is certainly better than that black shirt and mask he used to wear," said Karen, shaking her head. "That one was a little tacky, not going to lie."

"A lot of things about that guy is tacky," Foggy muttered. Matt tried to not be offended. He failed.

"Okay, that's enough teasing him. The guy _did_ save my life, after all," Karen said. "Matt, do you have anything to add? You're so quiet today."

"Sorry. I'm just thinking." Matt shrugged his shoulders.

"As am I," Foggy sighed. His voice sounded much more cheerful when he spoke, but also forced. He threw an arm around Matt's shoulder. "Are we thinking the same thing right now?"

"Are you thinking about how much pressure this case is, and if we mess up, _even a little bit,_ our lives, along with Doctor Banner's, are completely over?"  
"Nope!" Foggy said, popping the 'p'.

Matt sighed, a small smile creeping on his features. "Are you thinking about lunch?"

"I'm thinking about lunch!" Foggy declared. Karen rolled her eyes and Matt snorted. "I was thinking Greek food! Any thoughts?"

"I think you're a child," Matt laughed.

"Boo! Any _constructive_ thought on lunch, Karen?"

"I think Matt's right. We should be focused on the case," Karen said.

"Aww, come on," Foggy complained, sighing dramatically and raising his hands in surrender. "Alright. Alright. You got me. Shall we discuss our plans?"

"Over Greek food?" Karen chimed in.

Foggy raised his arms in the air in victory. "Yes! You're outvoted Matt! Greek food it is."

"Guys-"

"Don't be so nervous, Matt," Karen said. "Nelson and Murdock are on the case! No one will stand in our way!"

"Thanks for the support, Karen," Matt said, giving a small smile.

"It's not just support man, it's the truth! We're unstoppable!" Foggy cheered.

"I wouldn't go that far…"

"Who's doing prosecution anyway?" Karen asked.

"I am," said a fourth, new voice.

The trio stopped.

A man stood leaning against a door to their right, scrolling through his phone.

Matt frowned. The voice seemed… familiar.

They were most likely between 25 and 30 based off their heart beat, male based on the form he was able to 'see' with his crude echolocation, and obviously rich based off of the expensive cologne overwhelming his senses. It made him want to gag. But who…

"Jack," Foggy growled. Matt raised an eyebrow, startled. There was so much malice in Foggy's usually cheerful voice; it unnerved him.

"I'm sorry, who?" Matt asked.

"You don't recognize me, Murdock?" he scoffed. "Nah, I don't suppose you would, what with your less than 20/20 vision and all, but still… ouch. That hurts. We went to school together. Remember?"

Oh.

 _Now_ Matt remembered.

Jack White.

The most pretentious jerk to ever walk the Earth.

White had almost graduated at the top of their class at Harvard, behind only Matt. He was always bitter about that. He couldn't ever touch Matt, however; the teachers were always watching him like hawks. They seemed to think that he needed extra protection since he was blind. Matt was still annoyed when he thought about it.

Since Jack could never get close enough to Matt to do anything, he always took his frustrations out on Foggy. And he was crafty. He once framed Foggy for plagiarizing an essay and almost got him kicked out. Matt and Foggy teamed up to prove his innocence in the form of a mock trial (their first ever case together; It was actually what gave them the idea to start a law firm together) but Jack didn't even get more than a slap on the wrist.

Something in Matt's expression must have given it away because Jack grinned and said, " _Now_ he remembers."

"What are you doing here, Jack?" Matt asked blankly, his voice and face devoid of any emotion.

"I'm preparing for the case, just like you two," he drawled. He slipped his phone into his pocket and stalked towards them.

"How did _you_ get this case?" Foggy demanded.

"I should be asking you the same thing, Franklin."

"It's Foggy, actually." Foggy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh, how cute. You kept the pet name Murdock gave you." Jack played at his fingernails as he spoke.

"You guys know him?" Karen asked. She glanced back and forth between Foggy and Matt.

"You could say that," Foggy growled. His fists clenched.

"And who is _this_ beauty?" Jack asked, lowering his sunglasses. He went to take a step forward, hand outstretched, but Matt blocked him with his cane.

"That's enough," Matt said coldly.

"Or what? You'll hit the air next to my head? Throw your cane at me?"

"You'd be surprised," Foggy muttered.

"Anyway, I ought to get back to work." He clapped his hands together and tilted his head back, staring at them from under his glasses. "Though, I suppose since you two are representing the defense, I shouldn't be too worried."

"I wouldn't be too sure, buddy. These two have their very own law firm!" Karen said, obviously trying to sound tough and failing. "They're the real deal!"

"Yes, I heard. Nelson & Murdock: Attorneys at Law? A little start up law firm in Hell's Kitchen? Honestly, I knew the big green beast was desperate, but I didn't know he was that desperate. You might as well accept defeat now," Jack clicked his tongue and tilted his head to the side patronizingly.

"We'll see," Matt responded coolly. "Now, If you'll excuse us, we have work to do."

Matt tucked his cane under his arm before grabbing Foggy's upper arm with one hand and resting the other on Karen's shoulder, steering them away. He could hear their hearts racing and feel them trembling beneath his fingers. If he didn't get them out of their right now, he was afraid one of them was going to do something stupid.

He wouldn't be mad if one of them punched Jack—most likely Karen, though these days Foggy throwing hands with someone wouldn't surprise him in the slightest—but then they could get kicked off the case. They couldn't afford that to happen.

"You two know that jerk?" Karen spat.

"We went to school together," Foggy growled. "He was a huge bully."

"Still is, evidently," said Matt. He released his friends and began pretending to lead himself using the cane.

"Let's just get out of here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note: Thank you so much to everyone who read, left kudos, and commented on the first chapter! And thank you for all your patience with updating! I should have the next chapter up soon! I thought I should make a note that I haven't seen all of the Daredevil show on Netflix, so a few things are probably going to be inconsistent with the show. I'm mainly basing the characters on the comics because thats what I'm most familiar with, but I did some research and am trying to do a decent mixture of both the comics and show.
> 
> Thanks again! I hope you're enjoying it!
> 
> \- Identical Snowflakes


	3. It Could Have Gone Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: A bit of a shorter chapter here, sorry! The next one is longer, I promise! I'll get it up as soon as I can :)
> 
> \- Identical Snowflakes

The tension in the room was palpable, like the way the air seems to cling onto a person on a humid day.

Matt tapped his pointer finger against his cane, trying to keep his thoughts clear. Foggy was flipping through papers next to him, muttering what sounded like nonsense to Matt. Karen was standing off to Matt's left, talking kindly to a very flustered Bruce Banner.

Jack White was leaning casually in his seat across the room, sipping on a coffee and acting as if he didn't have a care in the world. Acting as if a man's livelihood wasn't at stake.

"All rise for Judge Maden."

The lawyers stood, and Matt nudged for the confused doctor to do the same. Bruce shot to his feet. Karen took her seat behind them.

The judge—a short lady in sweeping robes—walked past.

Foggy leaned across the table, gaining the attention of Bruce.

"All you have to do is plead 'not guilty'. We'll take care of the rest," he whispered.

Bruce nodded quickly. His eyes were slightly unfocused and his lips were pressed together in a taut line.

"You may be seated," the judge said, taking her seat.

"We are gathered here today for the preliminary trial of Doctor Bruce Robert Banner," Judge Madsen said, rifling through a stack of papers on her desk. "The defendant is being charged with assault, involuntary and voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, first degree murder, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, destruction of property—including government property—resisting arrest, illegal imagration to another country, and unauthorized removal of classified documents. The trial shall now commence. How does the defendant plead?"

" _Holy cow, that's a lot,_ " Foggy breathed. He spoke so quietly only Matt could hear him.

Matt agreed. The list seemed excessive, to say the least.

"Not… Not guilty, your honor," Bruce stammered. The judge nodded, hitting her gavel against the wooden pounding block. Matt could hear Jack scoff. He grit his teeth together.

"The prosecution shall now make its case."

"Thank you, your honor," Jack said, grinning widely. He slowly stood. "Permission to approach your bench?"

"Permission granted."

He slid a manila folder of the table and sauntered over to the bench, tossing a few photos at Foggy as he did. Jack then handed the folder to the Judge.

"Your honor, as you can see, these pictures depict the various sites at which The Hulk— Doctor Banner's alter ego—wreaked havoc. New York City and Harlem, to name a few. Both these areas are vastly occupied by civilians. Many of whom lost their lives directly because of the Hulks actions. The Hulk is also responsible for millions—that's right, millions—of dollars worth of property damage. These are undeniable claims.

"Doctor Banner must be held responsible for his actions. If anybody else committed murders and property damages to this scale they would have been held accountable. They would have been punished. But Doctor Banner has been let off scot free. Why, you might ask?

"Because he has a billionaire friend willing to pay for anything he breaks. Willing to cover up all his horrendous actions and sell a story— _a lie_ —to the public claiming that he's a hero, meanwhile sweeping all his crimes under the rug."

Jack pushed his glasses up his nose and smirked, pulling more papers from the pile.

"And those are just a few of the crimes the defendant has committed as the Hulk. It may shock you, your honor, but Doctor Banner has committed just as many felonies as himself." Jack handed the papers to the Judge.

"These are official shield documents. As you can see here, not only did the defendant illegally immigrate to Brazil after becoming the Hulk, he also unlawfully avoided arrest twice and attempted to a third time. Each time resulted in deaths of members of the US military.

"You will also see official documentation describing the battle of Harlem—where Doctor Banner fought Emil Blonsky, also known as the Abomination—and you will also see documentation describing the creation of the Abomination; It could not have been done without Doctor Banner's assistance, whether he assisted voluntary or not.

"Doctor Banner is also responsible for illegally destroying his research concerning the super soldier serum, which was not his choice to make as someone else had privately hired him, and therefore it was never technically his research to begin with," Jack claimed. He collected his papers and looked at Bruce. "Yet still, the defendant it always let off the hook without any consequences whatsoever. Without so much as an apology for his actions. Not a care in the world for all the lives he's ruined."

Jack pushed his sunglasses up again, smiling smugly. "The prosecution rests, your honor."

He took his seat.

The courtroom went silent.

"That… that's was actually a really good case. Not going to lie," Foggy muttered.

"But you guys can do better, right?" Bruce whispered.

"Yes…" Matt said slowly.

"That was a very hesitant sounding yes," said Bruce.

"Relax, Matt's the best. He knows what he's doing," Foggy said.

"Well, I-"

"The defense may now make its arguments," Judge Madden said, banging her gavel.

"Go get them, Murdock." Foggy grinned.

Matt sighed and grabbed his cane, making his way to the center of the room.

"Your honor." Matt nodded respectfully. He looked in her general direction. "I believe one of the very important things the prosecution forgot to mention is that my client can not be held accountable for his actions. Or at least, he should not be. Allow me to explain.  
"The Hulk and my client are two very different beings. They both exist separately. They have a different consciousness. My client has no control over the Hulk's actions, just like the Hulk has no control over Doctor Banner's actions. He is innocent.

"And as for his 'illegal imagration' to another country; My client believed his life to be in danger, which it was. He was being threatened and afraid. This is not a case of resisting arrest in the sense that a police officer was going to arrest him and put him in a holding cell. No, in this case he was being hunted by the entire US military to be wrongly and unlawfully imprisoned forever without trial, or killed."

"Those are some serious accusations. Do you have any evidence to support your claims?" Judge Maden asked.

"Uh, well, no. No, I don't, your honor." Matt cleared his throat and tossed his cane to the other hand. "My partner and I were just recently assigned to this case a few days ago and didn't have sufficient time to-"

"And what of the prosecution's claims that your client aided in the creation of the Abomination?"

Matt rubbed the back of his head and shrugged one of his shoulders. He smiled meekly. "I was… unable to discuss that certain topic with my client due to time restrictions. But I assure you, your honor, my client had nothing to do with the Abominations origins."

"I'm afraid your word is not enough, Mr. Murdock. You may continue or you may rest if you have finished."

Matt pressed his lips together. "The defense rests, your honor."

He took his seat.

" _That could have gone better,_ " Foggy whispered quietly.

" _Oh really?_ "

"Due to lack of defensive evidence, I have no choice but to have this case continue unto trial," Judge Madden said, hitting her gavel against the sound block again. "Jurors will begin to be selected on the 3rd of November. The court date is set for the 24th of November. The defendant and the prosecutor are to appear in federal court on that date."

"Your honor, our client makes a request for bail," Foggy said.

"Bail denied."


	4. The Beginnings of a Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> I have nothing to say for myself about the long wait.  
> Heres another chapter!!! :D

After four weeks of barely any sleep, several all-nighters, nonstop coffee and energy drink consumption, endless paperwork, multiple boxes full of hours and hours of security footage and countless interviews, it was the day of the trial.

According to the local weatherman today was a beautiful day, with only the recommendation of light jackets because of the wind chill.

In Matt's opinion, today was a disaster waiting to happen.

But then again, he always felt like something horrible was going to happen, like a disaster was around the corner. Like he was going to mess everything up.

He had problems.

The most obvious problem right now being the courtroom filled with a chattering audience, muttering jurors, and five very disgruntled Avengers.

The most disgruntled of which was sitting directly next to Matt in handcuffs.

He wondered why they even bothered with them. Surely they knew that if Doctor Banner 'Hulked out' no cuffs would contain him. It was probably an intimidation tactic.

And based on the unnerved expression on the good doctor's face, it was working.

Apart from the skittish superhuman to Matt's left, the table was also occupied by Foggy. Karen sat in the back of the courtroom, however, so there would be no moral support from her.

Twelve jurors sat far to the left. All of them were in their late forties and early fifties. Doctors, Matt would guess. Its policy to get jurors of similar background, age, status, and profession as the defendant. Matt highly doubted any of them had a big green angry alter ego, however.

The same judge from the preliminary trial appeared to be assigned to the main trial, as well. After she settled down the tense courtroom with a wave of her hand, she called the prosecution to speak.

Jack stood, smugly adjusting his tie. "Thank you, your honor," he said, approaching the center of the room. "The prosecution calls one Anthony Edward Stark to the stand."

A few people in the audience muttered to each other as Tony made his way to the front. Matt didn't even need to use his crude echolocation or enhanced hearing to know the billionaire was most likely winking and flirting with everyone he passed. The very strong smell of cologne and hairspray mixed with the smell of grease and oil wafted towards Matt as the superhero strutted past him.

As soon as Stark swore in and settled down in his seat Jack began to bombard him with questions.

"Mr. Stark," Jack said, grinning widely and gesturing towards the jury, "would you please share with the jury how you know the defendant?"

"Oh, Brucie-Bear and I go way back." Stark waved his hand in the air and leaned back in his chair, smiling charmingly. He folded his arms behind his head. "We saved the world together a few years ago. I don't know if you've heard. There were aliens and everything. I mean, I did most of the work, what with the government trying to nuke the city and all. I saved everyone. Almost died, too."

Jack wrinkled his nose. "So… would you say you have a professional relationship with Doctor Banner?" Jack asked.

"Objection. Leading the witness," Foggy said, raising his hand nonchalantly.

"Sustained," the Judge nodded.

Jack nodded and smiled, clapping his hands together. "Mr. Stark, how would you describe your relationship with the defendant?"

"We're science bros," Tony said confidently, shrugging.

Next to Matt, Dr. Banner groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Jack raised an eyebrow. He tapped his chin. "Would you please define 'science bros' for the jury?"

"We blow stuff up in my lab together," Tony said nonchalantly.

Bruce groaned louder.

"Well, I mean, I do most of the blowing things up myself," Tony said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck and sitting up straighter. "Brucie usually stands in the background telling me not to do things, and then I immediately do them. He's the voice of reason. But usually it's me doing reckless stuff, yeah. I mean, why is Bruce even here? You've met the guy, right? He's so cautious and rule abiding it's obnoxious. He doesn't even jaywalk! I mean, what kind of person doesn't jaywalk? I jaywalk! It's New York City, the traffic is so bad the cars don't even move. You can walk anywhere and not get hit. But not Brucie, nope. He follows every single law. It's annoying, yeah, I'll give you that, but-"

"Objection, narrative answer," said Foggy.

"Sustained," said Judge Maden with a small nod of her head.

"Huh?" Tony's brow furrowed together.

"The witness shall refrain from giving narrative answers in the form of rambling," she explained, waving her hand in his direction.

"Oh… uh, sorry," Tony shrugged, grinning again and not sounding in the least bit sorry.

Jack leaned cockily against the evidence stand, turning his attention from the Judge and back to Stark. "During all your time knowing the defendant, has he ever exhibited any violent or destructive behaviors?" questioned Jack.

"Is… is that a trick question?" Tony glanced up at the judge, raising a single eyebrow. "That's a trick question, right?"

"Please answer the question, Mr Stark," she sighed.

"Um… _Brucie_ hasn't. The _Hulk_ has," Tony relied slowly, weighing each word cautiously. Matt sighed. So Stark _can_ think before he speaks. What a surprise.

"Would you please clarify?"

"Well, the Hulk and Bruce are different people. A lot of people don't realize that, but they are. They're as different as you and me, pal. They're just unfortunate enough to share the same body," replied Tony, sounding confident again, his cocky smile resurfacing.

"We got him," Foggy whispered, leaning back in his chair and smirking. Matt frowned.

"Fascinating," Jack remarked. He slowly walked past his stand, sliding a small manilla folder off of it as he passed.

Foggy took in a sharp breath.

" _What's wrong?_ " Matt asked quietly.

" _He has a document with the Shield logo on it. Whatever it is, it's not good,_ " Foggy whispered back.

Matt cursed silently.

"As the ladies and gentlemen of the jury can see here, I have with me an official report from the desk of Nick Fury himself. It was recovered during the complete release of all S.H.I.E.L.D. documents a few years back," Jack claimed. Matt could hear the rustle of the paper as he waved it around for all to see.

"Uh, objection! Relevance," Foggy said desperately.

"Overruled," Judge Maden replied.

Matt could practically feel Jack's smirk.

"I shall now read an excerpt from this report. Keep in mind that this was read and approved by Nick Fury, a known associate of the defendant. Ahem," Jack cleared his throat dramatically and pushed up his sunglasses with his free hand. "Paragraph thirteen, page three, sentence four. _'The leftover gamma radiation from the accident involving the failed attempt to recreate the Super Soldier Serum resulted in the creation of what is known as The Hulk; a physical manifestation of all of Doctor Banner's anger and negative emotions.'_ "

" _I remember going over that document,_ " Foggy whispered. Matt's frown deepened.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury," Jack continued, tapping the papers, "as you can clearly see, though it was claimed that defendant and The Hulk are separate—and that very well may be true—there is no doubt that The Hulk was created from emotions and thoughts that the defendant already had. Therefore, the defendant obviously has a degree of control of his alter ego, and is therefore also responsible."

The jury started muttering among themselves. Matt could tell even without seeing them that they were shooting dark looks in their direction. They were losing the jury's support; that was not good… not good at all. Foggy shifted in his seat and began tapping the table in a nervous and irritating rhythm. Matt huffed and bit his lip.

But it's still early in the trial, right? They could still very well turn this around with a few choice words.

No pressure or anything.

"Mr. Stark," Jack said, turning his attention back to the startled billionaire, "you are a man of science, correct?"

"Uh…"

"It's a simple yes or no question," Jack said harshly, crossing his arms.

"Objection, leading the witness," Foggy deadpanned, lifting a finger.

"Sustained," Judge Maden replied curtly. She gestured towards Jack. "The prosecution shall rephrase their statement."

"Of course, your honor." Jack stood straighter and stared at Tony questioningly over his sunglasses. "Mr. Stark, are you adept in the scientific field?"

"If you're asking me if I'm a genius, the answer is yes. Obviously," Stark scoffed, smirking confidently.

"Do you understand the effects of gamma radiation in the case of Dr. Banner?"

"I understand everything, buddy." Tony crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"Then you'll be able to answer this question. As a man of science, in your expert opinion, would The Hulk exist today if it were not for Dr. Banners experiments?"

"Um, no…"

"No. And would the Hulk exist if Dr. Banner didn't exist?" Jack asked smugly, tapping his chin slowly.

"Well, no… but-"

"And would The Hulk exist if Dr. Banner didn't originally have feelings of anger and rage for the Hulk to manifest itself in?" Jack asked, rudely cutting Tony off. Tony frowned.

"No, but-"

"No further questions, your honor," Jack said, adjusting his tie smugly as he took his seat. Matt scowled. He could hear Foggy's heart thumping next to him. Dr. Banner's hands were trembling slightly, his watch scraping repetitively against the table.

"Woah, hold the phone! Just hold it!" Stark yelled, jumping up from his seat.

No, no, no, no, no… Matt squeezed his eyes shut. He prayed Stark would shut his always-moving mouth. He was going to make this so much worse...

"Order in the court!" The Judge barked, smacking her gavel against her sound block.

"Hang on just a moment-" Stark objected, waving a finger angerly.

"Mr. Stark, if you do not hold your tongue I will have you removed from my courtroom immediately," said the Judge icily, rubbing her temples and glaring at him.

"But-" Starks voice faltered.

"The defense will now have a chance to cross-examine the witness," the Judge said, snapping her fingers and shooting Tony one last death glare. Tony huffed and sunk back into his seat.

"Thank you, your honor," Matt said, rising to his feet. He grabbed his cane in one hand and rested the other on the nearby railing, pretending to use it to steer himself towards the center of the large room.

" _What does that mean?_ " Matt heard Bruce whisper to Foggy behind him.

" _Matt needs to try to prove that their arguments are unreliable,_ " Foggy whispered back.

The only noise in the otherwise silent courtroom was the sound of Matt's cane clicking against the slick marble floor.

"Mr. Stark, would you say that my client is a rather calm individual?" Matt asked. Tony raised an eyebrow and made a half-laughing half-scoffing noise.

"Well, yeah. He kinda has to be, otherwise he gets all big, green and angry and destroys everything," Tony joked. Matt pressed his lips together into a straight line, trying to not get annoyed.

"But overall, you'd say he's pretty mild mannered?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Tony shrugged, tilting his head and squinting his eyes, as if he was deep in thought,

"You've known my client for quite some time," Matt remarked, nodding slowly. "And you've been through a lot with him. You've probably seen each other in all sorts of scenarios. From happy situations, to even potential life-threatening ones. Being a superhero ensures a lot of stress on an everyday basis. You have to be on call at all times, 24/7, not knowing what you're going to face the next day or even if you'll live until the next day at all. Not knowing whether or not you'll see your loved ones again."

Matt knew that better than most.

"Objection. Relevance," called Jack, sounding thoroughly annoyed.

"There's a point to this, your honor, I swear," Matt said quickly, raising his hands calmly.

"Overruled. Hurry and get to your point, Mr Murdock," Maden said, sounding exhausted and waving her hand at Matt.

Matt nodded. "Of course, your honor," Matt turned back to Stark, looking at the area right next to his head. "Mr. Stark, in all your time knowing my client, through everything you've been through together, how would you describe my client overall? As in Bruce Banner, not the Hulk."

"How would I describe him?" Tony repeated.

Matt nodded.

" _Well._ " Stark crossed his arms and leaned back slightly. He tilted his head back and pursed his lips, thinking. "Bruce… he's always the first one to make sure everyones okay after a battle. Ironically, considering the whole 'angry green rage monster' thing, he's the most level headed out of all of us. Always keeping his temper in check. He's difficult to annoy, I'll give him that. And trust me, _I've tried._ "

"And why do you think that is?" Matt tilted his head to the side.

"I'd say it's because he doesn't want to Hulk out, but he's always been like that;" Tony said as he fiddled with his tie, seemingly bored out of his mind. "I met him on a few occasions before the incident with the Gamma radiation, and even then he was a really chill dude. And, I mean, everyone gets angry _sometimes._ That's just a part of being human, and all that jazz."

"I see," Matt nodded. He turned and waved his hand in Bruce's direction. "Calm. Level headed. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, when the prosecution claimed that Doctor Banner is responsible for The Hulk's actions because he allowed for him to be created in the first place, he is actually claiming that my client is guilty solely because he feels anger just like the rest of us.

"And as for this piece of evidence," Matt said, sliding the document off of the evidence stand, "I'd like for my associate Mr. Nelson to read the same phrase that Mr. White read. I'd read it myself, but I left my reading glasses at home."

A few wry chuckles drifted through the courtroom. Even the judge was hiding a small smile. Matt could feel Jack's scowl from across the room.

"This is no place for jokes, Mr. Murdock," Judge Maden scolded.

"Of course, my apologies." Matt smiled, handing Foggy the document. "Paragraph thirteen, page three, sentence four, if you don't mind, Mr. Nelson."

"But of course, Mr. Murdock." Foggy flipped through the papers. " _'The leftover gamma radiation from the accident involving the failed attempt to recreate the Super Soldier Serum resulted in the creation of what is known as The Hulk; a physical manifestation of all of Doctor Banners anger and negative emotions.'_ "

"Thank you, Mr. Nelson," Matt said, turning back to the jury with a smile on his face. "Unlike the prosecution, I'd like to focus on the important part of the paragraph; what happened in the lab was an accident. A failed attempt to create something else resulted in the creation of The Hulk. Accidents happen. My client was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But here's the real question. Mr. Nelson, will you now read the first sentence on page three of the report?"

"Sure thing," said Foggy. He found the page and read, " _Though past attempts in recreating the Super Soldier Serum proved unsuccessful, the US Military, being adamant in getting their hands on the serum, hired a team of scientists to recreate it, including Doctor Banner; this later resulted in both the creation of The Hulk, and much later, The Abomination._ "

"Wow," Matt said dryly, raising an eyebrow. "The very same government pressing charges on my client is responsible for creating the conditions for the Hulk to be created in the first place."

The room went dead silent as his words sunk in.

Smirking, Matt turned his head and focused on listening.

Through the various noises decorating the courtroom, such as the sound of Foggy rustling papers, the barely audible squeaking of Banner anxiously rubbing his fingers together, the quiet tapping of a juror typing on their phone, the humming of air coming through an air vent and the almost silent sound of a beetle scurrying around on the floor, Matt could hear Jack's heartbeat.

It was rapid. He was scared.

Good.

Matt grinned again..

"There will be no further… further..." Matts voice faltered. He frowned. His brow furrowed.

Did he hear one of the jurors using a _phone?_

In high profile cases such as this, jurors were completely cut off from the outside world until the end of the trial. That meant they were provided with monitored hotel close to the courtroom and away from others, they had no access to the news or the internet, and _definitely_ didn't have their phones. All cell phones were taken before the trial started; before the opening statements.

If it was found out that a juror had access to the outside world, such as a computer or phone, then the entire trial would be thrown out and started over from scratch. They would get new lawyers, new jurors, and the entire trial wouldn't be rescheduled for months, if not _years._ Anything to keep someone from leaking information about the case to the public.

There's no _way_ one of the jurors had a phone, right?

But Matt could have sworn that he heard-

"Mr. Murdock, are you alright?"

Matt's head whipped up, suddenly remembering where he was. "Yes, yes, my apologies, your honor. I lost my train of thought.

"No further questions."


	5. A Trial of Suspicions

"But cell phones aren't allowed in courtrooms!" Foggy argued, slamming his plate down on the table harder than necessary. He huffed, tossed his suit case aside, plopped down in the seat Matt had saved, and took a huge bite out of his burger.

" _I know._ That's why I'm telling you." Matt bit his bottom lip and focused on tossing his water bottle up and down.

The food court they were in was overloading his senses. There were too many noises, too many smells, too many people! It was giving him a headache and making his power go haywire. He just wanted Foggy to finish eating so they could go.

"Are you sure?" Foggy asked, his voice muffled and mouth stuffed with greasy fast food.

"I know what I heard, Foggy," Matt said. He steepled his fingers under his chin.

"Maybe he didn't know the rules?" Foggy suggested weekly, lowering his pop and pausing mid slurp.

"Each juror is searched every day. He must have snuck it in. It's the only explanation." Matt shook his head. Foggy shoveled a few fries into his mouth

"Hmmmm," Foggy hummed. He nibbled on his burger and shoved his fries in Matt's direction. "Want some?"

"You're not taking this seriously."

"What do you want me to say, Matt?" Foggy threw his hands in the air, one of them still holding his sandwich. "That I think someone is scheming some nefarious and evil plot? The juror is probably just a social media addict who didn't want to live without their phone, so they snuck it in."

"That's a weak excuse and you know it," Matt sighed. He tossed his water bottle on the table and rested his head in his hands.

"Okay, then what are we going to do about it?" Foggy asked tiredly, shoving his french fries once more in Matt's direction.

"All I want is for you to acknowledge that it's worth looking into," Matt said, his voice low and level. He ignored the french fries.

Foggy shrugged, grabbing a few fries and stuffing them into his mouth. "I acknowledge that it's worth looking into."

" _Thank you._ " Matt pressed his hands into his forehead; his headache was worsening.

"But I also acknowledge that you're probably overreacting," Foggy added, taking a big sip of his drink again.

Matt raised an eyebrow, looking up and staring straight at Foggy. "Excuse me?"

Foggy scowled and lowered his drink. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you can see me. It's unnerving."

"Technically I can s-"

"Don't care. Its creepy." Foggy picked one of the pickles of his burger in disgust.

" _Whatever,_ " Matt sighed, flicking Foggy's discarded pickle away from him.  
"Anyway, admit it, you tend to overthink things. And by 'things' I mean 'everything.' Don't deny it!" Foggy pointed a fry at him accusingly.

"Just promise me you'll look into it," Matt sighed.

"I promise," Foggy obliged, waving his hand through the air and sending some of his soda spraying everywhere.

"Thank you," Matt said through gritted teeth. Foggy nodded and held the fries up again.

"Now do you want a fry or not?"

* * *

Day two of the trial went pretty much the same as day one: Jack made his arguments, questioned a witness, and presented some form of evidence. Once he was done either Matt or Foggy would get up and cross examine the evidence. Most of the time it was Matt: Foggy preferred most of the behind- the- scenes stuff.

The entire time Matt was listening for the tapping of someone typing on their phone. No luck. No luck, that is, until around four hours into the long trial.

Matt was gesturing towards the evidence stand when he heard it.

Not the tapping of someone on their phone, no, but a click.

An almost silent click, too quiet to be heard by a normal human.

The click of a camera.

Matt froze. His words died on his tongue.

His 360-degree echolocation allowed him to see the jurors without turning, but he could tell without it that none of them were holding any sort of visible camera. And if they had been, someone would have called them out, right?

Matt strained his ears.

There was a _pit-pat_ as someone tapped their fingers against the wooden desk. A rustle as someone adjusted their tie. A squeaking as someone played with their wedding rings.  
Another click.

A fly buzzed around the courtroom. Someone took a sip of water. Someone adjusted their tie.

_Click._

Someone was adjusting their tie.

_Click._

More specifically, someone was readjusting their tie clip.

A hidden camera.

"Mr. Murdock!" the judge barked. Matt jumped back, startled.

_Oh. He was in the middle of talking. Right._

"Sorry, your honor. I appear to have lost my train of thought." Matt shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts and continue with the cross examination.

It was difficult, to say the least. Each time he'd get going and start making a decent argument, he'd heard that little click and it would completely throw him off and he'd have to completely regather his thoughts.

Needless to say, Foggy was a little concerned once Matt finally sat down.

" _Dude, what was that? You kept freezing up! Are you feeling okay? You look awful! What's wrong?_ " Foggy whispered, grabbing his shoulder tightly. Matt winced.

" _One of the jurors has a camera,_ " Matt hissed back through gritted teeth. He massaged his temples. He probably shouldn't have been using his enhanced hearing the whole time; he felt like a hundred nails were being repeatedly pounded into his skull and his ears were ringing.

" _What?_ " Foggy's head whipped up to look at the jurors.

" _A hidden camera. Disguised as a tie clip._ "

Foggy tensed and shifted.. " _Which one?_ "

" _Front row._ " Matt gritted out. He pressed the heels of his hands into his forehead, trying to get the ringing to stop. "Late forties, around 160 pounds..."

" _The guy who's rocking the total supervillain looking goatee?_ " Foggy leaned forward, staring straight past Matt and at a juror. "Man, that guy is giving off total supervillain vibes. Him? Is it him, Matt?"

" _I don't know, I'm blind,_ " Matt hissed. " _It's the third person on the left._ "

"Shouldn't you guys be paying attention to this?" Bruce asked, waving his hand at Jack, who was currently questioning a

"Shhhh!" Matt and Foggy hissed in unison. They turned back to their private conversation.

Bruce raised his eyebrows.

" _Third person on the left…_ " Foggy whispered. " _You mean the lady with the sunglasses?_ "

" _Yeah. There's a camera on her tie clip._ "


	6. Properly Infuriating

"I've read the security officers' full reports, looked through all the security footage from the hotel housing the jury and the security footage for the courtroom— which was incredibly difficult to get, by the way. I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork, and I mean a _bunch._ So much that-"

"Foggy. Focus," Matt said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Right," Foggy said. He rubbed his eyes. "Anyway, I searched through everything—and I mean _everything_ —and none of the jurors have any phones."

That gave Matt a pause. "What about cameras?"

"No cameras either, man."

Matt's brow scrunched together. He took his hand from Foggy's shoulder and began to pace. "Are you sure?"

"Positive! Do that creepy listening-to-people's-heartbeat thing if you don't believe me! See if I'm lying," Foggy suggested defensively.

"I believe you," Matt said instantly in reassurance. He stopped pacing and frowned. He had been so sure… "Maybe I was mistaken."

"Or maybe they're just really good at hiding it," Foggy said darkly, sounding as if he was trying hard to keep his voice serious and mysterious but unintentionally allowing some excitement to sneak through.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Foggy looked over his shoulder. They were standing at the very end of an abandoned hallway. If anyone saw them talking they'd probably assume they were just chatting about their plans for the trial. Or maybe they'd think Matt got lost and Foggy was helping him. People tend to think that a lot.

"Look, if you said you heard it, then you heard it," Foggy said, lowering his voice. He bit his lip, sucked in a deep breath, and continued. "I believe you. All this proves is that they know how to avoid getting caught. That makes them dangerous."

"True…"

Foggy dug through his large stack of papers, pulling out a sheet from a manilla folder. He flipped it open. "And just listen to this-" he tapped his fingers against the papers rapidly. "Everyday at five in the afternoon, a juror named Amy Blake takes a smoke break outside."

"So? That's allowed."

"Yeah, but then I checked the security cameras. Not once have the cameras recorded her at _any_ of the designated smoking areas. In fact," Foggy lowered his voice dramatically. Matt scrunched his brow. "the cameras haven't recorded her anywhere during that hour. She completely disappears."

Matt blinked. "Like… she turns invisible?"

"What? No." Foggy scowled. He ran a hand through his long hair and sighed. " _What I'm saying is that she goes somewhere without security cameras._ "

"Ohhh."

Foggy rolled his eyes, huffing loudly. "And an hour would be _more_ than enough time for her to pass on any information," he added desperately. Matt shifted on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't know, Foggy…."

" _And this is the same woman that you said had the secret camera,_ " Foggy said, sounding like he was waiting for Matt to freak out about this exciting piece of evidence he had been holding back. He grinned and shook the papers in his hand for effect.

Matt frowned.

It could mean something, but it could also mean nothing. His hand dropped down to his watch; he felt the numbers.

3:45 p.m.

If he wanted to check it out, he certainly had the time.

"How come you haven't high fived me yet?"

Matt sighed and shook his head. "It's awfully suspicious, I'll admit. But…"

"But what? Come on! Do you know how long it took me to put all this together?" Foggy groaned in exasperation. He threw his hands into the air. "I really think we're onto something here!"

"It wouldn't hurt looking into," Matt said slowly, rubbing his chin.

"Thank you!" Foggy said, maybe a bit louder and a bit harsher than needed.

Matt hesitated before he added, "but… I'm going to tell Jack."

Foggy froze, the papers falling from his hands and scattering across the floor. His smile fell faster than the papers. "I'm sorry, what?!" he hissed. He looked at Matt as if he had grown another head.

"He's the other lawyer on this case," Matt said defensively, very pointedly not looking at Foggy. He kept his head angled down towards the ground. "If we have suspicions about one of the members of the jury, he deserves to know."

"Matt. Buddy. _Pal,_ " Foggy said, sounding somewhat condescending. "I think you might have hit your head on your last patrol. This is _Jack_ we're talking about. He doesn't care about anybody but himself. He's not going to listen to you!"

"He deserves to know, Foggy," said Matt. He tossed his cane into his other hand and shrugged, turning to look at Foggy. It didn't really matter what direction his eyes were pointed, to be honest, as he had 360-degree echolocation, but Foggy seemed to take him more seriously when he was "looking" at him. "And who knows," Matt added hopefully, "he might listen."

"Twenty bucks says you're wrong," Foggy sighed, relenting. He bent down and scooped up some of the discarded papers.

Matt smirked, grabbed the folder next to his foot and handed it to his friend.

"Deal."

* * *

"Jack, you have to listen to me," Matt groaned. He rubbed his face, knocking his glasses askew.

"No. _I don't,_ " Jack said smugly. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, that smug little smirk he always had prominent on his face.

Matt really wanted to punch it off. Matt really, really, _really,_ wanted to punch it off.

But, alas, there were laws. Not to mention how Matt would have to explain how he could "see" Jacks smirk in first place.

Matt took a deep breath in. This was _not_ going as planned.

But then again, when did anything go as planned?

The breakroom the two of them were in was stuffy and hot; Matt was able to intercept Jack as he was trying to make a cup of coffee. He explained his suspicions about Blake (conveniently leaving out the superpowers stuff) in the hopes of getting Jack on board to help look into it.

Jack, of course, was being his usual narcissistic, unhelpful self.

Matt took another deep breath in as Jack tapped the rim of his empty mug in a slow, repetitive, _irritating_ manner.

"There's something going on here," Matt said calmly. He kept his voice quiet and level.

"The only thing that's going on is that you're getting cold feet, Murdock," Jack scoffed. He stopped tapping on his mug. Matt silently sighed a breath of relief; it was about to drive him insane. "A member of the jury is acting suspicious? Really?"

" _Just listen,_ " Matt pleaded. The coffee machine started beeping, causing Matt to flinch in surprise. Jack snorted.

"No, Murdock. _You listen._ " Jack reached for the coffee jug and poured the boiling liquid into his cup. "You might not know this, but when members of a jury are being chosen, they go through this little thing called a _background check_. A _background check_ is where _people_ are checked to see if they're _bad people._ Do you understand?" Jack spoke slowly and patronizingly, as if he was speaking to a child.

The urge to connect Matt's fist to Jack's jaw intensified.

"I know what a background check is, Jack," Matt muttered.

"Good. At least you know _something,_ " Jack snorted. He poured a stevia packet into his drink and slowly stirred it with a plastic spoon. Matt pressed his lips together.

" _Jack-_ "

"Hey, you're scared. _I get it,_ " Jack laughed. "You realize you're going to lose the case, and you think that if you try planting doubts in my mind about a juror then I'll be too distracted to give a proper case and you'll win.' Jack grinned and took a slow sip of his drink. He made a face when it burned his tongue, opened the freezer, and dropped three ice cubes into his coffee. Matt scowled. _What kind of_ mad man _puts ice in his coffee? It'll make it all watered down and gross._

It took Matt a minute to realize that Jack was, in fact, still speaking. "A clever game, really," Jack was saying, nodding his head slowly. "I didn't think you'd be able to think up something like that, Murdock."

Matt blinked and grimaced. "That is _not_ what's happening here," he argued.

"Then what is?" Jack snapped, tossing his empty stevia packet and plastic spoon towards the trash and missing. Jack ignored it and Matt pretended not to notice.

" _I am trying to warn you,_ " Matt said through gritted teeth. His grip on his cane tightened.

"Warn me about what?" Jack took a long sip from his coffee. Matt looked at him incredulously. Did Jack really just ignore _everything_ he had said?

"The ju-"

"Whatever, Murdock." Jack rudely cut him off, waving a hand dramatically. "You just worry about your case, and I'll worry about mine. Okay? How does that work? Good? Good!"

Jack took his coffee and his stupid personality and started walking towards the door. "I'm leaving now, if you couldn't tell."

"Ja-"

"You know, it is odd. I never took you for a coward," Jack said, stopping halfway out the door and looking at Matt oddly. "Teacher's pet? Yes. Suck up? Definitely. A total nerd? One hundred percent. A complete and utter idiot? Absolutely. But never a coward."

" _Jack._ "

"I'll catch you later, Murdock. It's unprofessional for the defense and prosecution to be talking like this."

Before Matt could say anything else he was gone.

Matt stood still for a minute, alone in the small break room. He sighed, a deep tired sigh, before scooping up Jack's discarded trash on the ground and properly throwing it away.

_Well, shoot._

Matt owed Foggy twenty bucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! I got two shorter chapters done in the place of one long one. I hope you enjoy reading them, and as per usual, I'll try to get the next chapter up asap. I absolutely love each and every comment, thank you so much!  
> Happy quarantine! (as happy as it can be, at least! :) )  
> Stay safe!


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